Ch.107107. The Village Alchemist

The farm was quiet, which put my mind at ease.

I finally understood a mother’s feelings when she returns from a trip to find her house in disarray.

After unpacking my things, I showed Jihyun to her room.

“You can use this room for now.”

“Okay… Wow… This is amazing.”

“It’s nothing special. We just started building, so it’s barely livable.”

Originally, the second floor had my room, Sujeong’s room, and a storage room, but after Jihyun joined, we made another room in the remaining space.

It used to be a spacious second-floor living room, but since it wasn’t that important, we reduced its size to make room for another bedroom.

Even after downsizing, the living room was still large enough to sit and have tea, which actually made it feel cozier.

“Wow.”

The storage room was full of various items Sujeong had packed away, so I laid out a mattress and provided a closet and a simple table she could use.

There wasn’t really anything to be impressed about.

If there was any advantage, it was that the sparse room had a portable TV and tablet to keep her from getting bored.

“Does this work here?”

“Obviously there’s no internet, but Sujeong has downloaded some content you can watch.”

“Ah! That’s great.”

Although Sujeong had supposedly briefed her on the cabin’s rules, I explained the important ones just in case.

“If you’re hungry, you can help yourself to food from the pantry on the first floor. Since you came here as an alchemist, you just need to focus on alchemy at home. Let me know if you need anything. Oh, did Sujeong tell you to do anything related to farming?”

“Yes, she mentioned morning routines and preparing your meals…”

“That’s fine. Those are Sujeong’s responsibilities, so don’t worry about them. Just focus on your own tasks.”

“No, no, Boss. Please let me do it.”

Jihyun has her own role.

Right now, she had to come here because her login/logout level is low, but eventually, when their levels increase, Sujeong and Jihyun will come together.

There’s no need to strictly assign who cooks and such, but Sujeong is rather laid-back, and she’s taking 10% of my share for doing those tasks.

In contrast, Jihyun is someone I have a purely business contract with to make and trade potions.

Not properly distinguishing between personal and professional matters often leads to strained relationships.

That’s why I told her not to do it, but Jihyun was determined.

“I’m a good cook. I cook for myself every day. I’m not even paying for anything, just getting free food and lodging, so it’s not hard to cook for you while I’m at it. Besides, I agreed to be Sujeong’s assistant.”

“You don’t have to push yourself. Sujeong gets paid for cooking and such.”

“It’s fine. I’m gaining experience points with free ingredients.”

“Then if you ever don’t feel like doing it, don’t. I’m fine with convenience food. You don’t need to cook every meal. Let’s compromise—maybe just cook when our mealtimes overlap.”

“Understood!”

Well, I suppose we’ll figure it all out as we go.

It’s not inconvenient.

Honestly, I’m thankful she’s volunteering to fill Sujeong’s role.

There’s a world of difference between heating up instant rice and having different side dishes and soup with every meal.

With Sujeong, it’s comfortable because she’s family, so I can easily tell her what I want to eat, and I pay her enough to keep her satisfied.

No matter how much of a garbage person or socially inept loner I am, I still know where to draw the line.

But I’m finding it’s not easy to refuse when someone insists like this.

She’ll probably stop if she gets tired of it.

I’ve done my part in being considerate.

“Shall we eat first, then?”

Fortunately, I wasn’t worried about food today since I’d bought plenty for us along with Lulu’s hamburgers.

We went downstairs and sat next to Lulu.

With several hamburgers, french fries, corn salad, and chicken legs spread out, it was as good as a feast.

“Master, this hamburger is so delicious.”

“Eat plenty. Sujeong will probably make them next time. She said she was learning how.”

“Wooow!”

Even though they had cooled a bit on the way back, they were still warm.

Who would have thought we’d be eating hamburgers in the Rift Dimension?

Actually, hamburgers aren’t that difficult to make.

Hamburger recipes had been circulating in the Farming World community for a while, and I’d made them myself before.

So while I wasn’t particularly excited, it was my first time bringing in actual franchise hamburgers, which made it feel special.

It was one of those elements that made you feel the connection between reality and the Rift Dimension.

In that sense, things like solar panels and refrigerators also create that same feeling.

While eating and wondering where to install the air conditioner I brought, Jihyun spoke up.

“Boss.”

“Yes?”

“Could you speak to me more casually?”

“…What?”

“Casually. Like you do with Sujeong.”

“Is that your preference?”

“Pfft. No, that’s not what I meant.”

Jihyun wasn’t a timid person.

She had resisted many temptations and followed her convictions down a difficult path.

You could tell just by how clearly she defined and carried out her responsibilities.

“We’ll be living together from now on. I heard you’re 26, and I’m 25. Given our ages and situation, I think it would be more comfortable for me if you spoke to me casually.”

“Hmm… would that really be okay?”

I understand that speaking casually is more comfortable.

However, as I told Hyoju, when you get too casual with people, it’s easy to cross boundaries.

Using formal speech helps prevent unintentionally crossing those lines.

“Yes! Swearing is fine too.”

“…Isn’t that a dangerous thing to say in such an isolated place? You don’t know what I might do.”

“Meeting you has shown me that I have good judgment about people.”

“You might be wrong. I’m kind of a pervert, you know.”

“Come on. I heard you even turned down Hyoju.”

“I didn’t exactly turn her down…”

“Well… and someone like you…”

“Hm?”

“Nothing!”

She mumbled the last part while eating her hamburger, so I couldn’t hear it clearly.

Still, as we ate and chatted casually, the atmosphere lightened up a bit.

After dinner, we had some leftover fries with beer and took time to hear about Jihyun’s personal life.

I don’t particularly care to listen to others’ stories, but in a place with nothing else to do, I could at least hear out a new employee.

There wasn’t anything particularly special about her story.

Just an ordinary family.

She couldn’t find a job and was draining her parents’ resources until their financial situation became difficult. Then she awakened as an A-rank alchemist and received many offers from guilds and other temptations. She considered compromising for practical reasons, but ultimately her parents sold their house to support their daughter’s future and encouraged her.

So despite the difficulties, she decided to level up to increase her value, and that’s when she met me.

She said she was so happy and had already been able to give back a little to her parents, tearing up a bit as she spoke. Jihyun, not me.

“I’m so grateful. If I hadn’t met you at the market, I was actually considering loan sharks.”

“Isn’t that dangerous?”

“If that didn’t work out, I would have joined a guild…”

“Ah.”

In reality, failure wasn’t really possible in Jihyun’s life.

Whether her mother sold the house or she got into debt with loan sharks, ultimately, as she said, at the edge of her life, she just needed to take one of the many hands extended by guilds to solve all her problems.

The difference was whether she would just solve her problems and compromise, or seize wealth as an A-rank alchemist.

Jihyun had chosen the latter path well.

“I often wondered why everyone wanted me so badly. I’m still low-level with nothing but A-rank alchemy skills… But after meeting you, I understand.”

With a face flushed from a can of beer, Jihyun looked at me with relaxed eyes.

“They’re staking their claim early, aren’t they? It might be rude to compare myself to you, but… I think I understand Hyoju’s feelings. Hehe…”

“Um, you should go upstairs and sleep.”

What kind of person gets drunk on one can of beer?

She wasn’t completely intoxicated, but she was definitely tipsy.

She seemed to realize it too, as she finished her can and said she wouldn’t drink any more before going to the bathroom to wash up and heading to her room.

“Miss Jihyun seems nice too,” Lulu, who had been sitting on my shoulder listening, commented.

“She is a good person.”

From my perspective, Jihyun is truly a good person.

It would be unconscionable not to appreciate someone who volunteers to cook and farm on top of being an alchemy shuttle.

“I should go to bed too.”

“I’ll clean up. Go to sleep, Master!”

“You just want to eat the leftovers, don’t you?”

“Huh…”

“Eat plenty.”

“Hehe.”

I wondered how all that food fit into such a tiny body.

Anatomists would probably drool at the chance to study her.